In the growing gig economy more and more businesses are using freelancers to undertake work traditionally done by employees. In fact, more and more potential employees are opting to be their own boss and work exclusively as a freelancer. Whilst this is often good news for both parties it’s important to understand the differences in…

Yes, you butter believe it, Little Chef, the former chain of roadside restaurants, has taken off its (oven) gloves in a trade mark battle in the culinary world. The challenger: A charity recipe book. The outcome: Battered dreams. Little Chef was once a big dill in the world of roadside cuisine with a chain of…

People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that Intellectual Property Law is not something which directly concerns them. You would usually associate IP with the creative industries such as music, fashion, art, film etc. or life sciences and technology. However, IP considerations find their way into nearly every industry – and especially in cases where…

The GDPR Fine-O-Meter has rocketed with news that the French authorities have fined Google 50 Million Euros for data breaches under the GDPR. Introduced in May 2018, the regulations which apply EU wide give individuals more control over their data than previously, with businesses needing to seek consent for specific uses. As well as imposing…

Conor McGregor, the former Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, is having yet another dispute trying to register a trade mark in the EU. McGregor is well known for his high profile mixed martial arts fights and his persona in letting everyone know “he is the best at what he does,”…

Rihanna is making trade mark news again. In 2015 she took Topshop to Court over the use of her image on a T-shirt. Topshop owned the image they had used but their marketing campaign suggested a commercial tie and endorsement which did not exist. Rihanna’s claim was that TopShop were unfairly exploiting her image, so…

An unlikely warrior Cú Chulainn, Conor McGregor, Katie Taylor … Ireland is known for its fearless warriors. Well, they can all step aside for the newest champion: Supermac’s. Humble beginnings Supermac’s was born in Ireland a couple of recessions ago. When the company first started trading in the late 1970s, it was small and had…

Cycling in London can be a hair raising experience at times. All respect to Manchester City Council who last summer announced plans to create the largest cycling network in the country with 1,000 miles of routes including segregated cycle lanes. Manchester Council planned to call the scheme Beeline. The worker bee being an important City’s…

We all love a good pair of Vans as a staple item in our trainer collection don’t we?! Well, global shoe manufacturer Vans have issued proceedings against Primark in the US for allegedly copying the design of two of their most iconic skateboard trainers. The two designs are the Vans Old Skool trainers and the…

As we all return to work we have a wintry story from Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. In a town called Toyokoro lumps of ice lie scattered across the beach. They shine like diamonds in the day and glow under the setting sun. They are formed when the mouth of the frozen rover Tokachi…

Well here we are, we made it to 2019 and looking forward to perhaps one of the most challenging years we have had for a while as we set sail through the choppy waters of an unfolding Brexit. We are ready and waiting and will be bringing you the news and views from the world of…

Nirvana has issued proceedings for copyright infringement against Marc Jacobs International, alleging that that the fashion brand is infringing the copyright in the band’s smiley face logo. The complaint filed by Nirvana claims that the late Kurt Cobain created the logo in 1991 and Nirvana has used it since 1992 to identify its music. In…